South Bay state Sen. Rod Wright has taken an indefinite leave of absence from the Legislature until his May 16 sentencing on felony voter fraud charges in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Wright, whose district stretches from Inglewood to San Pedro, requested the leave during a meeting Tuesday with Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg.

“There are motions pending by Senator Wright’s legal team to set aside the jury verdict and/or ask for a new trial,” said Mark Hedlund, Steinberg’s spokesman. “So, though a jury has rendered its verdict, Senator Wright has not been technically convicted of a crime yet.”

Wright originally was scheduled to be sentenced March 12, but last week requested and received a two-month court delay.

“We’re doing motions to try and get what I deem the unjust verdict overturned,” said Wright’s attorney, Winston Kevin McKesson. “We believe that to make these motions more complete, we need a copy of the entire trial record. That trial record will not be available until March 12. We’re going to need time to go through the entire trial record.”

And, McKesson noted, the sentencing could be delayed even more if the District Attorney’s Office decides it also needs time to respond to the motions.

The 61-year-old Wright reportedly will continue to receive his $95,291 Senate salary during his leave of absence.

This is the latest delay in the legal case since Wright was indicted in 2010 on eight counts of felony voter fraud, perjury and filing a false declaration of candidacy.

Wright successfully delayed his trial until earlier this year, even winning re-election in a different district despite the charges.

The charges against Wright stem from 2008, when he ran for and won the 25th District seat. But prosecutors successfully argued during his trial that Wright actually lived in a neighboring district in upscale Baldwin Hills during that time, a violation of state law.

Wright, who now represents the 35th Senate District, faces up to eight years in prison but could avoid any jail time because there is no minimum sentence for his crimes.

Steinberg faced increasing pressure from Republicans after Senate Democrats demanded that a second Democratic senator, Ron Calderon, resign or take an indefinite leave after he was indicted last week on multiple federal corruption charges. Calderon pleaded not guilty Monday.